Senior citizens of Mandaue City will have their promised additional P2,000 in next year’s financial assistance increasing their yearly cash aid from the city government from this year’s P6,000 to P8,000.

This developed after the City Council approved the P2.4 billion proposed budget for 2019 on third and final reading on Monday’s session.

The approved budget carried intact the City Social Welfare and Services (CSWS)’s proposed allocation of P45 million for donations and P35 million for financial assistance, which the majority bloc in the City Council wanted slashed — the first proposed CSWS budget item by P20 million and the second item by P10 million.

“Nakarealize na ang atong opposition na sayop ang ilang gibuhat nga ilahang gi-slash sa budget (The opposition (majority bloc) has realized that it was a mistake to cut the budget),” said Mandaue City Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna, who is the Council’s presiding officer, during a press briefing on Monday.

Jessie Perez, CSWS head, however, convinced the majority bloc on the reason for the nearly double increase of their proposed budget for the two items for next year.

The budget for the financial assistance item this year was P17.5 million while for this year’s donation was P22 million.

Perez said that they had to increase their budget because they would be expanding their services to the constituents next year.

He cited the cash assistance for senior citizens, which would be increased by P8,000 each seniors next year and would be taken from the CSWS donations as a reason for the increase of the donations item.

For the financial assistance increase, he said that they would be used to fund city’s educational assistance, the public school teacher’s incentives and the Sangguniang Kabataan’s scholarship program, among others.

Perez said that if their budget proposal would be reduced it would affect their allocation for their assistance to the city’s senior citizens, the teachers’ incentives and the SK scholarship program.

On Monday, the City Council adopted the committee report recommending the approval of the 2019 annual budget during the second, and final reading.

City Treasurer and Lawyer Regal Oliva earlier said that next year’s budget would be lesser than this year’s P4.7 billion allocation.

Oliva said that the bulk of the proposed budget would go to the offices of the City Mayor, City Engineer’s, and General Services, which would each have a five percent share of the general fund or about P100 million each.

The city government, Oliva earlier said, would allocate about P180 million for the drainage masterplan and P20 million for the expenses on the coming 50th year celebration of the city next year.

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